Last Sunday September 25, I spent the day facilitating a random weave workshop for the Basketmakers of Victoria at their historic stable in Wattle Park. Most of the day we sat outside in the sunshine, enjoying the warmth and conversation, while keeping hands busy!
The materials that were available were dried and rehydrated hoops of wisteria, grape and willow to start the structure. Green fibre (recently harvested), was then added to create the intricate surfaces. I bought wild willow from the waterways of the Hepburn Shire and happy wanderer (hardenbergia) to work with. The willow was collected while dormant (deciduous so no leaves) and kept in water until the workshop. The happy wanderer was picked after flowering and stripped of its leaves, this laborious process is well worth the effort as it is a premium random weaving material. Once this green fibre in the basket has dried (in 6-8 weeks) and shrunk during this process more fibre can be added to fill the gaps.
Jodie Goldring 